Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor has a proud history of enacting visionary reform that leaves a lasting legacy, a legacy that changes lives and strengthens our economic future. Labor introduced our country's first maternity allowance back in 1912. Labor created Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and it was a Labor government, the Gillard government, that introduced paid parental leave in this country. The introduction of paid parental leave in 2011 was an absolute game changer for Australian families, who had waited decades for a national parental leave scheme, and, for many parents, the 18-week payment, fully funded by government, was the first time they could access any paid parental leave. This was a major milestone, and, after a decade of coalition indifference to the challenges faced by working families, Labor is once again doing the heavy lifting.

From day one, the Albanese government has been working hard to build on the Labor legacy. We are modernising the scheme to meet the needs of Australian families who, right now, need greater support when it comes to getting the work-life balance right and, most importantly, giving children the best start in life. First, we passed legislation giving more families access to the paid parental payment with a more generous family income test so it's easier for parents to share care and making the scheme more flexible so that both parents can balance care for children and work. Then, earlier this year, we passed legislation to increase the length of the scheme, and, from 1 July, we have added two more weeks of payment, expanding the scheme from 20 weeks to 22 weeks. It's a significant increase that will see the scheme expand by two weeks every year until it reaches 26 weeks in 2026. All these changes mean paid parental leave is now more accessible and more flexible and better encourages shared care. It will support parents to take a step back from paid work, if necessary, and it provides critical financial support at such a crucial time. Parents can now share over $20,000 in support after the birth of a new baby.

The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill is the third significant improvement the Albanese government has made to paid parental leave. It will bring significant benefits for families. More paid leave will ease the cost-of-living pressures for young families and, importantly, create greater capacity for parents to share parenting, build careers and earn pay packets.

For my electorate of Corangamite, with its rapid population growth—among the fastest in the nation—this will be life changing. In the latest census, the largest change in population in Greater Geelong was in the 30- to 39-year-old age group, with an almost 30 per cent population increase. The urban growth area of Armstrong Creek, where my electorate office is located, is now the youngest locality in Greater Geelong, with a median age of 30 years. There are similar growth areas in my electorate, with young families in Bannockburn, Ocean Grove and Torquay. These young families in my community and other communities across the nation will benefit directly from this bill's reforms. By adding super to paid parental leave payments, we're not just easing the cost-of-living pressures now but creating a framework to advance gender equality. Adding super to paid parental leave payments is such an important step.

We know that women are often retiring with less super than men. Data shows the gap between men's and women's super at retirement is more than $50,000. That's a huge gap, and it's not acceptable that, as a result, women often do it harder in retirement. For some women, it means sleeping in their car, couch surfing or being exposed to family and domestic violence with few prospects for the future. It is time this changes, and that's what this bill and our range of reforms to strengthen paid parental leave are all about.

The bill reflects the Albanese government's commitment to improve the lives of working families, support better outcomes for children and advance women's economic equality. We've listened to calls from the union movement, the women's movement, economists and employers: paying super on paid parental leave is a positive investment in the future of working women and the broader economy. For babies born or adopted from 1 July next year, this bill delivers all eligible parents with an additional 12 per cent of their paid parental leave as a contribution directly to their super fund. This super contribution will match the superannuation guarantee rate as at 1 July of the financial year the PPL is taken. It will rise with any future increases to the legislated superannuation guarantee. The contribution will be made annually by the Australian tax office after the end of each financial year. It will include an additional interest component to address any foregone superannuation fund earnings as a result of a payment not being made more regularly. More parents won't need to do anything further to receive their superannuation payment, and the claim process for paid parental leave will not change.

Around 180,000 families will benefit from the changes, and once the Paid Parental Leave scheme reaches 26 weeks in 2026, the maximum amount a family will receive in superannuation contributions is around $3,000. This bill and our two other paid parental leave laws before it send a clear message that the Albanese government is committed to a stronger parental leave system, and we want to see this reinforced throughout workplaces.

To be clear, the government payment is a minimum entitlement designed to complement employer provided leave. We know that some employers are already paying super on paid parental leave, which is a great thing. Data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows the proportion of businesses providing their own paid parental leave has increased over the last decade, so businesses know this is the right thing to do. In 2023-24, 63 per cent of reported employers offered employer funded paid parental leave. This is up from 48 per cent in 2013-14. This positive trend demonstrates employers increasingly see themselves as having a role alongside government in providing paid parental leave. The government and employers should be working together to ensure that our Paid Parental Leave scheme is a strong and inclusive one. We know that, when businesses offer their employee funded paid parental leave entitlements, it's a major way to attract and retrain staff. While we encourage employees to do this, this bill is about strengthening the government scheme.

All in all, this bill will make sure that we have an even playing field, and that's a great outcome for parents, particularly women, right across the nation. In addition to adding super to the government payment, this bill will ensure the parental leave framework in the Fair Work Act complements the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

Unpaid parental leave in the Fair Work Act is an entitlement that supports parents to remain connected to paid employment while they care for their child. This bill includes a minor technical amendments to clarify drafting to ensure that parents can access keeping in touch days during a period of continuous unpaid parental leave to remain in contact with their workplace and help facilitate their return to work. This bill and our raft of reforms to strengthen paid parental leave will change lives.

The reforms are recognition that families cannot always afford to access formal caregiving—child care, elder care or home care. For those families, women are often the ones to step up, and, when women step up, they usually reduce their working hours, leave the workforce or juggle multiple jobs both paid and unpaid. We know that women are less likely to be employed compared to men from young adult hood, reflecting that women are more likely than men to adjust their work to balance a career with caring responsibilities, particularly when children are young. That's why we've added super to paid parental leave. It is groundbreaking. Expanding the scheme to 26 weeks and boosting wages for feminised workforces is essential. As I said earlier in this speech, we know that women who do not have a level of super in retirement are vulnerable, and we should not accept the fact that women retire with far less super than men. This is one way to tackle this issue.

In closing, I would like to recognise the amazing local advocates in my electorate of Corangamite who, for many years, have advocated for better outcomes for women in the workforce. They've called on government to lift wages for feminised workforces, for more funding to support women's health support and for paid parental leave to be stronger and more robust. The Albanese government hears their calls for reform, and we are acting in so many ways. It's not just about paid parental leave and super; it's about things like looking at women's health, the hidden things like endometriosis, which for years has not been considered as a disease—it is something that many women have to cope with—and miscarriage. These are things that women need support on, and we are delivering. We are acting.

In relation to paid parental leave, we are making the scheme stronger to ensure that young families have more access to cost-of-living support today and to tackle the huge gender pay gap in retirement savings. Our government understands that, to build an economy that truly works for everyone, we must ensure it works for women today and into the future. Paid parental leave is at the centre of delivering that commitment. Paid parental leave is a proud Labor legacy, and we will always work to strengthen it. It's good for parents, it's good for children, it's good for employers, and it is good for our economy.

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